CAV: Journal of Recognition

or Go Back to GM's Call.

Game Type: Tactical Combat Game Expansion
Author: Ed Pugh
Publisher: REAPER
Medium: 8x10 paperback
Price: $24.95
Reviewer: Brian O'Connor

   The CAV Journal of Recognition is the second book in the new CAV combat system. This is ostensibly a technical readout of the robots with some fluff added in to expand upon the CAV universe. Unlike other robot tech readouts, this one uses the specific job of the robots to section off the book as opposed to their weight. They have used standard military designations to define the difference between the job profiles of one unit from another. The sections are as follows:

   Superiority: This section is by far the largest as it covers all of the CAVs designed to take and hold the field of battle.
   Suppression Fire: CAVs engineered for suppression fire to open points of attack for the Superiority CAVs to exploit.
   Support Fire: Indirect fire support to soften up enemy targets prior to the insertion of other CAV units.
   ESM: Battlefield Recon and ECM units. Recon / Scout: Units designed more for speed than firepower.
   Special: CAVs that fall into a specialized role that cannot be defined by the other categories.
   Tanks: Wheeled or Tracked vehicles.
   Artillery: Missile launching vehicles.
   APCs: Armored Personnel Carriers.
   Aircraft: VTOL craft.
   Infantry: Infantry weapons.

   The authors have found a nice blend of technical information coupled with story material that would make the book an interesting read for players of the game or simply as a stand alone manual. There are several pages of full color images of the CAVs and Vehicles listed as well as line art on each page. The last quarter of the book is filled with game spec sheets used in the combat system. This book alone will not give you the means to play CAV but will expand upon the limited units listed in the CAV Rulebook. The back of the book has pages dedicated to correcting errors from the first printing of the rule book and a simple construction system so that you can design and build your own CAVs for play. I found the book to be very enjoyable with great art and very realistic design concepts. My personal opinion of the story concept so far is somewhere between Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear and FASA's Battletech game. The sizes of the robots are roughly Battletech scale and weight but the concepts for construction seem closer to Heavy Gears. All in all it seems a  very good "Giant Robot" game.

Playability
   Not enough information in this book alone to play CAV.
Game Mechanics
   Straightforward design concepts.
Tech System
   Very logical and realistic.
Character Creation & Advancement
   Limited to Pilot Stats only.
Setting
   Very good background throughout the book that really brings to life the CAV universe.
Presentation
  Direct, organized and very thorough.

Brian O'Connor 08/16/2002